Made it down to Chatt

Ascension officially made it down to Chattanooga this afternoon at Star Line Books!!

Every experience with this book brings something new to my life, and it's just so amazing and humbling. During the Maryville Launch, so many people came that night to support me. I honestly could not believe my eyes, and I was so incredibly humbled. I will never be able to forget that night, even though it was such a blur.

All of the kind reviews I'm getting on Amazon and Goodreads touch my heart. I know the bad reviews are going to come. Even the most spectacularly flawless authors like Maggie Stiefvater, Leigh Bardugo, and J.K. Rowling have their critics. But for now, I'll take all of your reviews to heart, treasuring each one, and be so so thankful.

Ni touched my heart with her kindness

Tonight, apart from the new faces and old friends that came out to support me, I met my first, real, non-friend or family related fan. Ni was waiting for me when I got to Starline this afternoon. An English professor at my university mentors her and bought Ascension for her when it launched a month ago. This afternoon, she presented me a rolled, crumpled, folded, bent, well-read, extremely loved copy of Ascension. "How could you do that?" She said to me. My natural reaction, knowing the twists and turns of my book, was to ask her to clarify. "The ending! I threw it across the room several times!!" she said. Guys, I can't tell you exactly how much this means to me. I've been there. I've thrown a Maggie Stiefvater book across the room. And MY book made someone do that...
Ni named her favorite character, her favorite part, and told me that she's shared her copy around her classroom. But the best part? She wrote fan fiction about Rove and Jillian!!! Fan fiction...about MY BOOK! I have to be honest, I kind of fell when she told me that. I was so stunned and touched and humbled and...only big time authors get fan fiction right? This can't possibly be real life, right? Ni just made my entire month.

My friends, my creative writing group, english professors, some city goers, some classmates, and of course my mom, publisher, and book seller made this afternoon absolutely amazing. Tonight is going to be so memorable to me, will always stand out in my mind. Thanks to everybody who was able to come out tonight. You all mean the world to me!

The Best Book Seller on the Block

If you live in Chattanooga and haven't gotten the chance to visit Star at Starline Books on Market Street, please head over there. It's a wonderful bookstore with an amazing collection of books and the best bookseller on the block.